


Laryngitis

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 07:00:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21114653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex gets laryngitis on tour making the band have to cut their set short.





	Laryngitis

Alex didn’t know why, but he always had really bad luck when it came to getting sick on the road. He was unwell more often than his bandmates were, and he hated it. It made his job much harder than it had to be, which stressed him out.   
Over the past week, he’d suffered a bad bout of the stomach flu, but they still performed every show they had in full. They’d canceled a signing, but it meant that they could do all of their shows, which is what Alex really cared about. Once the majority of his symptoms cleared up, he still had a fever and his throat and voice were still not back to normal, so he went to a doctor and was told that he had laryngitis. They had one more show then they would have a week off until their next one. His band tried to convince him to cancel it, but he insisted they make the decision the day of the show so he could play if he felt well enough to. Alex didn’t want to cancel and would do anything to not have to, he hated to let the fans down.   
When he woke up the day of the show, Alex felt just as miserable as he did the day before but was still determined to go on. It was only one more show, surely he could do one more set then rest up as much as possible before their next gig. A small coughing fit jerked him up and made him groan. He decided that medicine would be a good idea, so he got himself out of bed and to the font of the bus. As he poured himself some cough syrup, Jack noticed he’d walked in.  
“Hey man, how’re you feeling?” Jack asked. He knew that Alex never wanted anything to stop him from performing, and now was no different. He admired Alex’s work ethic, but it could also concern him in times like this.  
“About the same as yesterday,” Alex replied in a hoarse voice.  
“So, about the show tonight-“ Rian started, before getting cut off by Alex.  
“We’re not canceling,” Alex sternly replied.   
“Dude, you really don’t sound good,” Zack said.  
“I’ll be fine for one more show,” Alex replied. Seconds later, Alex broke into a painful coughing fit. He doubled over some, trying to regain his breathing.  
“Alex, you really don’t sound good. Honestly, would it be so bad to cancel one show?” Jack tried.  
“I’m not causing us to cancel. You guys can say what you want, but I’m not changing my mind,” Alex explained.  
“Fine. If you’re so set on going on tonight, at least go on vocal rest. You’ve got to save every little bit of voice that you have for tonight,” Rian explained.  
“Rest up a lot today, too. You look pretty beat,” Zack added.  
“I’ll do that,” Alex replied.  
“Do you want to go to the back and start a movie? I’ll go with you, if you want,” Jack offered. Alex just nodded in reply.  
“Feel better, dude,” Zack said.  
“And, for the love of everything good in this world, don’t get Jack sick. One sick band member at a time, please,” Rian said in a mock begging tone. Alex just gave a thumbs up as he followed Jack to the back lounge. There were still blankets and pillows on the couch from the previous days Alex had been sick with the flu. Jack helped Alex get comfortable, then sat on the other side of the couch.  
“You seem pretty miserable, dude,” Jack said sympathetically. Alex opened his mouth to reply, but Jack stopped him.  
“Wait, I have an idea. Get your phone out,” Jack pulled out his phone and started typing.  
Jack: Let’s talk like this for now. Anyways, you seem miserable, dude.  
Alex: Yeah, I feel pretty bad if I’m being honest. My throat kills, and coughing makes it feel ten times worse.  
Jack: Are you sure you should perform tonight? You really don’t sound good.  
Alex: I refuse to cancel. We have a week off after tonight, so I can rest and get better then.  
Jack: Your work ethic is admirable, but don’t overdo it, okay? We’re all concerned about you. Like, you just had the stomach flu, and now you have laryngitis. That’s not good, dude.  
Alex: I appreciate the concern, I really do. But I’m going to make this work. After tonight, I’ll rest until I’m perfectly well again, I promise.  
As if on cue, Alex broke into another coughing fit. Jack scooted to Alex and put his hand on his friend’s back until the fit finally stopped.  
“Let’s put our phones away. I’ll turn on a movie, and you can just focus on getting rest until we arrive at the venue,” Jack suggested. Alex just nodded in reply, so Jack turned on the TV and started to channel surf. He picked a movie they both liked, and Alex fell asleep not far into it, much to Jack’s relief.  
\--------------  
A couple hours later, they got to the venue. Jack woke Alex up when he had to, and the two of them made their way to the front lounge.  
“How’re you feeling, Alex?” Rian asked, to which Alex just shrugged in reply.  
“We decided we’d just have a tech soundcheck your guitar and mic. We don’t really have to rehearse anything, since we’re pretty deep into tour and know everything. You should stay on vocal rest, and just chill in the green room,” Zack explained. Alex didn’t even try to argue, he knew that he needed to be careful with his voice. They still had quite a bit of touring to do, and he didn’t want to permanently damage his voice. The four of them walked into the venue, and Alex went to the green room as his band went to the stage to start sound checking. Alex spent the time channel surfing and texting with whoever would talk to him. Once the others were finished, the three of them went to go see Alex.  
“While we were out there, we decided that we should go ahead and plan to cut the set. Instead of seventeen songs, maybe we plan on doing twelve? We wrote up a revised setlist,” Jack explained, handing the new set to Alex.  
“Is this okay, Alex?” Rian asked.  
“I want to give the kids a full show, but I also don’t want to really mess up my voice, so I guess that this is a happy medium,” Alex said.  
“Glad to hear you’re thinking about this logically. When we’re up there, if you decide that you can’t make it through twelve songs, we can cut more,” Zack explained.   
“No, this will be fine. Anything less is screwing over the fans,” Alex replied.  
“Try not to talk anymore until we go on,” Jack suggested. Alex gave a thumbs up in reply. In all honesty, he didn’t even know if he’d be able to get through the twelve songs they’d selected, but he was determined to make it work.  
\--------------  
While waiting to go on, Alex took a nap, which helped him feel a bit better. Once it was time, he got himself ready, then went to the stage entrance and grabbed his guitar.  
“Remember, if you decide that twelve songs are too many, tell us. We don’t want you to hurt yourself,” Jack told Alex.  
“Don’t worry, I will,” Alex replied, coughing some. A few seconds later, they were given their cue to take the stage, so they walked on and started their first song. Once they were done with it, Alex coughed then went to his mic.  
“Hey everybody!” he exclaimed, earning cheers from the audience.  
“I hate to start this on a downer, but we’re going to play a slightly shorter set tonight. I’m a bit sick right now, and I don’t think I can realistically do a full set. I’m really sorry, and we’ll make this up to you guys when we come back, I promise,” Alex said, visibly upset. The crowd reacted; many people screamed their well wishes at him.  
“Dude, that was a bit modest. Guys, Alex has laryngitis right now, so the fact that he’s even onstage right now is a big deal, so let’s fucking give it up for him!” Jack exclaimed, trying to help his friend. Alex gave Jack a small smile as the crowd cheered. They started into their next song once the crowd calmed down some.   
The next few songs were quite challenging for Alex. His throat hurt more and more as the show progressed, and his cough was getting worse. After their fifth song, they all huddled around Rian’s drum kit.  
“Alex, you seem miserable, should we cut it here?” Rian asked.  
“No, we’re like halfway done. I’ll be fine,” Alex said, coughing more. They didn’t want Alex to waste his voice arguing, so they let it go and started into the next song.   
Alex’s voice got very faint as the show went on, but his band didn’t say anything. Once the lights went down, Alex walked over to Rian’s drums and had another bad coughing fit. Jack and Zack quickly noticed and walked over to him. Jack rubbed Alex’s back until the fit went away. It really made Alex’s throat hurt, which he knew wasn’t good.  
“Alex, are you okay?” Jack asked, feeling concerned.  
“I think I need to stop. Let’s play Dear Maria, then be done,” Alex said, coughing more.  
“You must feel really bad, then,” Zack stated.  
“Coughing is really hurting my throat, and I don’t want to fuck up my voice just because I’m stubborn. I feel like absolute shit doing this, but I don’t think I have a choice at this point,” Alex explained.  
“Okay man, do you want me to tell the crowd?” Jack offered.  
“I’ll do it. This is my fault, so it should come from me,” Alex replied. His band could see how upset he was, and they knew he’d be mad at himself over this.  
“Alex, it’s not-“ Rian started, before Alex walked back up to his mic.  
“I can’t explain how much I hate to do this, but we’re going to play one more song for you guys, then call it a night. I want nothing more than to give you guys a full set, but I don’t want to cause irreversible damage to my choice. I’m so sorry,” Alex said, as the crowd reacted. They started Dear Maria, and Alex had the crowd sing most of it, since his voice and throat were feeling pretty bad now.   
After the song, they thanked the crowd before walking offstage. Alex handed his guitar to his tech, then bolted back to the bus. He wanted a few minutes alone before his band checked up on him. The other three saw this and gave each other concerned looks.   
“He’s really upset about this,” Rian stated.  
“I know, we should go talk to him,” Jack suggested.  
“I think you should go by yourself for now. He listens to you more, and he might like it better for now if it’s just you, instead of all three of us at once,” Zack explained.   
“Okay, I’ll go talk to him,” Jack said.  
“Good luck,” Rian said back. Jack walked out of the venue, and to the bus. When he got on, the first thing he heard was Alex coughing. He followed the noise to the back lounge, and saw Alex doubled over with his head in his hands. Jack sat next to him on the couch and rubbed his back until the fit went away. When Alex looked up, Jack saw some tears in Alex’s eyes.  
“Hey man, don’t cry. Talk to me, what are you thinking right now?” Jack asked, as Alex took a deep breath.  
“I feel like I let everybody in that crowd down. I could only do nine songs, and I couldn’t even do them well,” Alex replied in a hoarse voice.  
“Alex, you have laryngitis. Most people would’ve just canceled if they were in your position. The fact you even went onstage at all says something. Also, I think you sounded pretty damn good, especially considering how shot your voice is,” Jack replied.  
“It’s just frustrating. Like, as a singer, not having your voice makes you feel defeated. I felt powerless up there. I have high standards for myself and my voice, and my performance tonight was nowhere near them,” Alex explained.  
“Dude, cut yourself a break. Your voice is fucked up, you’re running a nasty fever, and I’m willing to bet that your throat kills right now. Maybe tonight wasn’t perfect, but I think you did great, so do Rian and Zack. Please don’t beat yourself up over how you sounded,” Jack said, looking Alex in the eyes.  
“I’m still upset that I could only do nine songs. It was so short, and I hate that,” Alex replied.  
“I know dude, but you really gave it your all. It was nine more songs than almost anyone else would probably do. Our fans love you, and they want you to rest and get better. The three of us do, too. Rest up as much as you can until the next show, then you’ll be at your very best, and you’ll make yourself proud again,” Jack explained.  
“Thank you, Jack. I really needed this conversation. I still hate that things were the way they were, but I get how ridiculously hard I’m being on myself now. Thank you for talking with me about this,” Alex said, before coughing again.  
“No problem. Now that we’ve talked it out, you need to be quiet. You should stay on vocal rest until you’re okay again, and you’ll be perfect for the next show. Let’s watch South Park or something, and I’ll sleep out here with you, if you’d like that. Put it on while I get you some tea,” Jack said, giving Alex the remote.  
“Thanks, Jack,” Alex said, as the two exchanged smiles. Jack got Alex some tea and cough medicine, then got some blankets and pillows for himself. When he got back, Alex had put on an episode. He sipped at his tea as Jack set himself up on the other side of the couch. Eventually, they both fell asleep.   
Alex stayed on vocal rest until the day before their next show, which was a week later. When they performed Alex was very glad to be back to normal, but felt very grateful to have friends who cared about him so much.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I feel like this story shows how bad I am at coming up with titles tbh. Anyway, I know I've posted something similar to this in the past, but I liked this one a lot, and I wrote it recently (about a month ago), so I decided to go ahead and share it. I'm getting super close to my 50th story on here, which is insane! I'd love my 50th to be a request fill, so please send them in if you have them! Stay tuned for a Halloween story coming soon! Lots of love, Liv.


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